Can you apply to release cash that was seized under POCA?

You can apply to release cash that was seized from you, if it was seized unfairly, or the authority that seized it has acted outside their powers.

It’s not possible in every situation, and if your cash has been found to be linked with illegal activity, then it’s likely to be forfeited (confiscated) by the authorities.

However, if there has been a misunderstanding, we can help you recover the money that was seized.

When is cashed seized under POCA?

The authorities can seize cash if they have reasonable grounds for suspecting that it is ‘recoverable property’ (property obtained through unlawful conduct) or intended by any person for use in unlawful conduct. 

For example, the police may suspect that the cash they’ve found is the profits from the sale of drugs. Or they might think it’s part of a money laundering scheme.

The authorities will only seize cash if it is more than £1,000.

How long is it detained for?

The cash is detained for an initial period of 48 hours. In this time, the police (or other authority) carry out their investigations to find out where the cash has come from.

If they need more time, then the authorities apply to the Magistrates Court to get a court order for an extension. The court will grant a maximum extension of 6 months at a time. If the authority still needs more time to investigate, they can apply for another 6 month extension. But they can’t apply for any more extensions after 2 years.  

During the investigation, the policy will look at your financial records, and they will probably interview people that they think are connected with the cash.

When will cash be forfeited?

The investigations may reveal that the authority’s suspicions were correct, and the cash has in fact been obtained through unlawful means. In that case, the authorities can forfeit the cash (confiscate it).

They do that by applying to court for a forfeiture order.

How to apply to release the cash

So is there anything you can do to get it back once the cash has been taken from you? Well, you can challenge the detention in the courts.

First and foremost, you need to be able to prove that the money was lawfully obtained and intended for legal purposes. You can do that with evidence like bank statements, business records, payslips, invoices, and tax returns.

We can help you to gather the evidence that you need, and also to prepare a defence. As lawyers, we can highlight any technical procedural flaws that may mean that the detention of your cash was unlawful. We can also help you draft coherent explanations for the cash.

When we make an application for you, we’ll have to draft a witness statement. So, we’ll ask you questions about the origin of the cash and its intended purpose, and put your side of the story to the court. You may have to attend a hearing to give your evidence in court.

If the court agrees with you, then the money will be released back to you.

Is there any compensation available?

If the cash was wrongly taken from you, you can apply for compensation from the court as well as getting your money back. However, any compensation available will likely be quite small.

The authorities are obliged to put the cash in an interest-bearing account, so the claim for compensation is any loss for the authority’s failure to do this at the earliest opportunity. So your compensation claim may be the interest on the amount for just a few days.

In any case, the court is allowed to decide what level of compensation to give you, and they are within their rights to say that no compensation is due.

How we can help

If an authority has seized cash from you, it’s best to get a solicitor on your side as soon as possible. We can represent you at police interviews, and we can help you by collating the evidence that you need, and drafting a robust defence.

Later down the line, we can navigate the court system for you, and make applications on your behalf, and represent you at hearings. With legal representation, you have a better chance of getting the cash returned to you.

Contact us today, we work on both privately funded and serious Legal Aid cases across Leeds, Bradford, Halifax, Wakefield, Huddersfield, Keighley and across West Yorkshire and the UK.

0333 3448377 | info@harewoodlaw.com